Railroad crossing rail bed unit



May 2, 1967 P. G. HARMON 3,317,137

RAILROAD CROSSING RAIL BED UNIT Filed June 29, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 o o 0 Q o o o o o o o o o o o o o o u o v I q I 0 0' O o O o 0 o 0 0| 0 o 0 01 o a o O o u E Pa u] GtHcIrmon INVENTOR.

May 2, 1967 P. G. HARMON RAILROAD CROSSING RAIL BED UNIT SheetsSheet 2 Filed June 29, 1964 Paul G. HGI'ITIOT'Z INVENTOR.

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United States Patent 3,317,137 RAILROAD CROSSING RAIL BED UNIT Paul G. Harmon, Rte. 4, Box 211, Eugene, Oreg. $7401 Filed June 29, 1964, Ser. No. 378,878 7 Claims. (Cl. 238-8) This invention relates to railroad'crossing rail bed units of the type employed in constructing railroad crossings across highways and private roads.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a railroad crossing rail bed unit useful in constructing railroad crossings in which the rails are maintained in their predetermined gauge while at the same time providing a crossing surface which is smooth, permanent, quiet, and easily traversed by various types of vehicles.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a railroad crossing rail bed construction in which the tracks may be installed easily, and from which they may be removed readily for replacement or maintenance.

Still another important object of the present invention is the provision of a railroad crossing rail bed unit provided with means for working ballast which may underlie the unit, without dismantling or damaging the crossing installation.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a railroad crossing rail bed unit which may be provided in modules of such a construction and design that they may be placed contiguously to each other to construct a railroad crossing of any desired length.

Still a further object of the invention is the provision of a railroad crossing rail bed unit which may be made and installed economically and which is exceptionally durable in use.

Generally stated, the railroad crossing rail bed unit of my invention comprises a modular base adapted to be laid on ballast material and having a central section and parallel side sections. The side sections are elevated above the plane of the central section by an increment substantially equal to the height of the rails, which are received in parallel, spaced relation along the side margins of the central section.

The inside edges of the side sections are contoured to bear against the outside side faces of the rails,

A pair of locking panels are dimensioned for placement between the rails over the central section of the base, with their upper surfaces substantially coplanar with the upper surfaces of the side sections of the base, thereby providing a smooth, trafiic surface.

The outside, side edges of the locking panels are contoured to bear against the inner side faces of the rails.

Means are provided for wedging the locking panels against the rails and also for securing them to the base. Still further, access openings may be provided transversely through the central section of the base to provide access for rail jacks or ballast tamping tools.

Thus the crossing may be assembled easily and quickly by laying the modular base units side 'by side to thedesired length, placing the rails along the inner side edges of the bed units, placing the locking panels between the rails in tight abutment against the same, and bolting or otherwise securing the locking panels to the base. Then when it is desired to remove the rails, it is necessary only to remove the bolts or other securing means and to take out the locking panels, thus permitting ready removal of the rails.

Considering the foregoing in greater detail and with particular reference to the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a railroad crossing including the railroad crossing rail bed units of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a foreshortened view in perspective illustrating the bed units and the manner of mounting the rails there- 3,317,137 Patented May 2, 1967 ice FIG. 3 is a detail view in perspective of a wedging shim member employed in the construction of the herein described bed units;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, transverse sectional view, taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 and further illustrating the construction of the railroad crossing bed units of my invention;

FIG. 5 is a foreshortened, perspective view illustrating in detail the base of the presently described rail bed unit, with the rails removed; and

FIGS 6 and 7 are views in end elevation illustrating the manner in which a rail jack and a ballast tamping tool, respectively, may be employed in conjunction with railroad crossings comprised of the units of my invention, without substantial dismantling or destruction of the crossing.

A shown in FIG. 1, the presently described rail bed units are adapted for the construction of a railroad crossing across a highway or private roadway 10. Such a construction is of particular interest on the grounds or in the buildings of industrial plants where it is necessary to provide a railroad crossing having a smooth, troublefree, quiet, crossing surface to be traversed by various types of load-carrying vehicles including lift trucks, dollys, tractors and trailers, etc.

The railway itself may be conventional, being comprised of rails 12 and ties 14 supported on ballast in the usual way. To vided at each end of the crossing, a few ties 16 which are longer and spaced more closely together than are the ordinary ties of the track.

The crossing is made of a plurality of modular bed units 18 which may be substantially identical and which may be placed contiguously side by side to provide a railroad crossing of any desired length.

The construction of the rail bed units is shown particularly in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5.

Each unit includes a concrete base 20, FIG. 5, of generally rectangular shape and provided with a central section 22 and a pair of parallel side sections 24. The latter are elevated above the plane of the central section by an increment substantially equal to the height of a pair of railroad rails adapted to be received in parallel, spaced relation along the side margins of the central section.

The inside edges 26 of the side sections are contoured to bear against the outside side faces of the rails, being formed, in effect, with longitudinally extending keys 27 which bear against the web portion of the conventional rail.

Central section 22 of the base is provided at spaced intervals with flanged anchors 28, having eyes 29. It also is provided with transverse work openings 30, the'inner side edges of which are tapered to permit insertion of an elongated tool such as a ballast tamping tool.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the railroad rails may be placed on base 20 adjacent inside edges 26 of sides 24. The rails then may be wedged and maintained in place by means of a pair of cooperating locking panels 32.

Locking panels 32 may be made of concrete, generally rectangular in outline, and substantially indentical with each other. Their outer side edges 34 are contoured to bear against the inside surfaces of the web members of rails 12, providing elongated keys 35 for maintaining the rails in place. In addition, the outside side edges of the locking panels are provided with flangeways 36 dimensioned to accommodate the flanged wheels of railway cars.

The thickness dimension of locking panels 32 is such as to render the locking panels substantially coplanar with the side sections 24 of base 20. The plane of these members is substantially at rail height, preferably being slightly less than rail height as shown in FIG. 4, to prostabilize the crossing, there may be provide a smooth crossing, while at the same time permitting proper functioning of the railroad car wheels.

Locking panels 32 are penetrated transversely at spaced intervals by means of flared openings 38, the upper portions of which are enlarged to receive cups 40.

Both base and locking panels 32 preferably are reinforced suitably to provide the requisite strength. Thus base 20 may be provided with reinforcing rods 42, 44 and a post-stressed reinforcing rod 46 extending the full length of the base. Locking panels 32 may be formed with integral longitudinal and transverse reinforcing rods 48, 50. Rod 42 extends through eyes 29, further securing bolt anchors 28 in place.

To assemble the crossing, modular bed units 18 are laid side by side in the manner shown in FIG. 1. Rails 12 then are laid across the bed units on each side thereof. If desired, rubberoid or other resilient pads 52, FIG. 4 may be placed under each rail further to increase the smoothness of the crossing during use.

Locking panels 32 then are put in position, Wedging rails 12 to the proper gauge. The rails are maintained in this position by the insertion of shim bars 54 having handles 55 in the spaces between the pairs of locking panels, and by inserting bolts 56 through opening 38, the heads of the bolts being received in cups 40' of locking panels 32, and the stem of the bolts being threaded into bolt anchors 28 fixed in the central section of base 20.

The crossing then is ready for its normal use during which it provides a smooth, safe, quiet crossing over a long period of time. In addition, throughout its service life the rails may be removed for replacement, and the ballast beneath the crossing may be worked, Without extensive dismantling of the crossing and without damaging it in any way.

Thus when it is desired to remove the rails or work the ballast, it is necessary only to remove bolts 38 and shims 54, locking panels 32 then being lifted out, freeing rails 12 for removal.

Removing the locking panels clears tapered openings through central section 22 of base 20', as shown in FIG. 6. It is possible to insert a rail jack 58 through any one of the openings, the toe of the jack engaging the rail so that the entire unit, rail and bed, may be elevated in order to place additional ballast under the crossing.

As shown in FIG. 7, the opening also may be employed to afford access for a ballast tamping tool 60. This may be inserted radially if desired to work the ballast beneath the rail as well as that directly beneath the opening.

After the repair and servicing operations have been completed, locking panels 32 may be put back in place, wedged with shim 54 and secured with bolts 56 in the manner above described.

It accordingly will be seen that there is provided an apparatus in which the several objects of this invention are achieved and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A railroad crossing rail bed unit comprising:

(a) a concrete rail-anchoring base member for releasably securing railroad rails thereto, the base memher having a central section and parallel side sections integral therewith and elevated above the plane of the central section by an increment substantially equal to the height of a pair of railroad rails adapted to be supported freely in parallel spaced relation along the side margins of the central section,

(b) the inside edges of the side sections being contoured to bear substantially along their full length against the outside side faces of the webs of the rails, whereby to secure the latter against outward and upward displacement from the base member,

(c) concrete rail-locking panel means dimensioned for placement between the rails over the central section of the base member with the upper surface thereof substantially coplanar with the upper surfaces of the side sections of the base member,

((1) the locking panel means having outside side edges contoured to bear substantially along their full length against the inner side faces of the webs of the rails and to hold the latter against the inside edges of the side sections of the base member,

(e) and securing means for releasably securing the locking panel means to the base member, thereby releasably securing the rails to the base member.

2. The railroad crossing rail bed unit of claim 1 wherein the base member is dimensioned as a modular unit adapted to be placed contiguously to other similar units as required to construct a railroad crossing of predetermined length.

3. The railroad crossing rail bed unit of claim 1 wherein the inside edges of the side sections and the outside edges of the locking panel means are provided with longitudinal keys dimensioned to bear against the webs of the railroad rails.

4. The railroad crosing bed unit of claim 1 wherein the locking panel means is bolted to the base member.

5. The railroad crossing of claim 1 wherein the locking panel means comprises a pair of locking panels each engaging one of the rails, and shim means is insertable etween the locking panels for wedging them against the rails.

6. The railroad crossing bed unit of claim 1 wherein the central section of the base member is provided with transverse work openings adjacent the rails.

7. The railroad crossing bed unit of claim 1 wherein the central section of the base member is provided with transverse work openings adjacent the rails, the openings having beveled inner side edges for radial insertion of tools into the area beneath the rails.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/ 1930 Mulvihill 23 8-8 7/1964 Alsenz et al. 238-8 OTHER REFERENCES ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner. K A. BERTSCH, A ant Examin r. 

1. A RAILROAD CROSSING RAIL BED UNIT COMPRISING: (A) A CONCRETE RAIL-ANCHORING BASE MEMBER FOR RELEASABLY SECURING RAILROAD RAILS THERETO, THE BASE MEMBER HAVING A CENTRAL SECTION AND PARALLEL SIDE SECTIONS INTEGRAL THEREWITH AND ELEVATED ABOVE THE PLANE OF THE CENTRAL SECTION BY AN INCREMENT SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE HEIGHT OF A PAIR OF RAILROAD RAILS ADAPTED TO BE SUPPORTED FREELY IN PARALLEL SPACED RELATION ALONG THE SIDE MARGINS OF THE CENTRAL SECTION, (B) THE INSIDE EDGES OF THE SIDE SECTIONS BEING CONTOURED TO BEAR SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG THEIR FULL LENGTH AGAINST THE OUTSIDE SIDE FACES OF THE WEBS OF THE RAILS, WHEREBY TO SECURE THE LATTER AGAINST OUTWARD AND UPWARD DISPLACEMENT FROM THE BASE MEMBER, (C) CONCRETE RAIL-LOCKING PANEL MEANS DIMENSIONED FOR PLACEMENT BETWEEN THE RAILS OVER THE CENTRAL SECTION OF THE BASE MEMBER WITH THE UPPER SURFACE THEREOF SUBSTANTIALLY COPLANAR WITH THE UPPER SURFACES OF THE SIDE SECTIONS OF THE BASE MEMBER, (D) THE LOCKING PANEL MEANS HAVING OUTSIDE SIDE EDGES CONTOURED TO BEAR SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG THEIR FULL LENGTH AGAINST THE INNER SIDE FACES OF THE WEBS OF THE RAILS AND TO HOLD THE LATTER AGAINST THE INSIDE EDGES OF THE SIDE SECTIONS OF THE BASE MEMBER, (E) AND SECURING MEANS FOR RELEASABLY SECURING THE LOCKING PANEL MEANS TO THE BASE MEMBER, THEREBY RELEASABLY SECURING THE RAILS TO THE BASE MEMBER. 